


Beyond the Veil

by Isidar_Mithrim



Series: Marauders Era & Jily [14]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Animagus, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Bromance, Canon Compliant, Character Death, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Marauders, Melancholy, Missing Scene, Nostalgia, One Shot, OotP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 04:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19783270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isidar_Mithrim/pseuds/Isidar_Mithrim
Summary: {No fewer than four Stunners had shot from the figures around the cabin toward Professor McGonagall. Halfway between cabin and castle the red beams collided with her. For a moment she looked luminous, illuminated by an eerie red glow, then was lifted right off her feet, landed hard on her back, and moved no more. - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}What if Minerva, in a coma at St.Mungo, had the chance to choose between staying or coming back – between living and dying –  as Harry did in King’s Cross?





	Beyond the Veil

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Dietro al Velo](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/498400) by Isidar Mithrim. 



> Here I am, with my first attempt at translating a proper one shot, with dialogues and all… I’m sure it’s not as (hypothetically) good as in Italian, but I really hope it’ll be good enough, since it’s a story I’m quite fond of ^^  
> It's been as hard as I expected but it took waay longer, so I'll need a while to post other proper one shots (in the mid time, I'll translate a bunch of drabble ^^)

**Beyond the Veil**

Minerva opened her eyes.

The sun was high above her head, but oddly enough she could look at it without being blinded by the dazzling light.

She was lying on a cold, flat surface, like a stone pavement of some sort, and wondering where she was she sat up cautiously, expecting to feel sore, but her body reacted smoothly at the command.

Only when she stretched her arms in front of her she realised what she was wearing. It had been ages since the last time she dressed up with her Gryffindor Quidditch uniform, and she couldn’t held a smile remembering her past as Chaser. Oh, how she missed those youthful days...

Eventually, after what could have been a moment or an hour or a day, she lift her gaze from her robes and looked around her.

Despite the sky above her head, she was in a closed space. Massive stone walls surrounded her from afar, delineating a huge hall that rang familiar, but had a surreal vibe in it, because the colors were dimmed and the outlines shadowy, like immersed in some sort of cloudy mist. Like _made_ of some sort of cloudy mist. She went to check if her lenses were clean, but she realised she wasn’t wearing her reading glasses.

She stood up to explore the place, and after a couple of steps she realised the hall hosted four long tables – yet, she could swear they weren’t there an instant ago.

Red gold banners were hanging from the walls, and she was squeezing her eyes to figure out the animal woven on them when she heard a wheezing in the air.

She turned on the spot and saw the Quaffle right in time to seize it.

“Nice catch, professor!” exclaimed the familiar voice of a young boy with messy black hair. He was smirking at her, and that smirk...

Was he...? But no, no, that wasn’t possible... He must have been...

“Harry?”

The boy chuckled.

“He looks like me, doesn’t he? But he has Lily’s eyes” the boy said with a warm smile, his hazelnut eyes sparkling with fondness.

She hadn’t seen that gaze in almost fifteen years, but she’d missed it dearly.

“James…” she whispered, bewildered.

“In the flesh! At least I think so” he chuckled.

“Is this... Is this a dream?”

“Something like that, yeah. Nice decor, by the way” he said with a wink, gesturing at the walls.

Finally, Minerva recognized the griffins on the banners, and she understood where she was – or seemed to be. In hindsight, she’d probably known since the beginning, but for some inexplicable reasons she hadn’t grabbed the concept until then.

“Why are we at Hogwarts?” she asked him, still looking around. The tables seemed more defined now, more real.

“How am I supposed to know?” asked James, amused. “It’s your dream, professor. Not that I mind the choice, though… I kinda missed it here, you know?”

She thought Hogwarts missed him as well, but she didn’t voice the sentiment, afraid of getting too emotional.

James was walking around, now, and Minerva let her gaze wander again, spotting an old, worn hat upon a three-legged stool. How many eleven years olds she let sit on it...

“We are here because Hogwarts is my home” she whispered in understanding.

James nodded, his warm smile not leaving his lips. “I woke up at home too, when I died.”

Minerva winced, dreadful realisation coming to her. So, that was what had happened... That was the reason she was there… Those Stunning spells had killed her.

Well, her father would have be thrilled to know that even witches deserved a spot in Heaven, or whatever that was – it didn’t seem like Hell, at least.

“Shouldn’t the drapes be black in mourning, since I’m gone?” she joked.

It was a lame attempt, she knew that – she’d just found she was dead, in her defence – but she still hadn’t expected James widening his eyes with horror.

“Oh, Godric, no, no, I’m so sorry, you haven’t died yet, professor!” he clarified hastily, clutching her shoulders as to better convey the message.

She was astonished for an instant, before breathing a long sigh of relief. A second later, she grabbed the full meaning of his words.

“Not _yet_?”

“Well...” mumbled James, running a hand through his messy hair – God, she’d forgot that annoying habit of his, and even if they were discussing her death, she couldn’t help smiling at the gesture. “You can still choose to go back. _Truly_ back.”

There was a soft, melancholic longing in his words, and Minerva didn’t need much time to guess why.

“Are you saying that... you couldn’t choose?”

James sighed deeply, his features serious for the first time. “I got a different offer... One not as appealing.”

Minerva wasn’t sure she understood what he meant, and probably that showed on her face, because James began to explain.

“They gave me the chance every wizard gets: becoming a ghost.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t interested.”

Minerva wondered how hard it must have been for such a young, vibrant boy to turn out eternity. 

“Why?” she asked.

“I thought it was better to wait few years to be forever with the people I love, rather than watch them live and die only to spent an eternity without them. And... I wanted to be there to welcome Lily and Harry, if… if they couldn’t fled.”

Minerva felt a lump swelling in her throat, sadly aware that eventually Lily had to die too, to let Harry live.

“But why are we talking about me!” exclaimed James with forced cheerfulness, diverting her mind from those angst thoughts. “This is your moment, professor. Your choice.”

He was staring at her with intensity, and she felt oddly exposed under his gaze. It should have been a simple pick, she knew that, but it was so peaceful there, so beautifully calm...

She sighed deeply. “What would you do, in my place?”

“I’d go back.”

He'd spoken without hesitation, and Minerva was taken aback by his conviction. “You’d leave Lily?”

He swallowed, his adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “Yeah... I would. For the same reason you’re going to… our kids.”

Of course, she realised. Even if Lily was there, Harry was not. Lily herself would have wanted James to go back to their son. That made sense for James, but she couldn’t see how it made sense for her as well.

“I don’t have kids of my own” she said, even if James certainly knew.

“Are you sure?” he retorted, gesturing at the long tables with a knowing smile.

Minerva brought a hand to her heart when she saw the benches fulled with faceless teens wearing the Hogwarts uniform. She smelled the lovely scent of the feast treats and heard the joyful noise of the students, and she realised she hadn’t been aware of how unusually quite the Great Hall had been until then.

“I’m sure they still need their Transfiguration teacher, don’t you think?”

At those words, Minerva began recognising the happy features of her students.

She instinctively knew they’d disappear if she’d got too close, so she watched them from afar, walking back and forth along the spot where the teachers’ table usually was.

They sat randomly mixed together: the youngest with oldest, fathers with sons, present students with past ones, live and dead, Gryffindors and Slytherins. They all looked like teens, even those that by now had kids at Hogwarts of their own.

“That’s me!” grinned James, pointing at his other self. “And that beauty beside me... is she Ginny Weasley?” he asked uncertain, and Minerva smiled fondly when she recognised the girl.

“No, that’s Molly Prewett, her mother.”

James – the one standing at her side – whistled his appreciation, and she had to purse her lips to keep herself from grinning. Even in her teen version Molly looked older than Ginny, because Minerva hadn’t been teaching yet when she’d begun at Hogwarts.

Minerva kept looking at the students, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Cedric Diggory setting with his father Amos.

James put a comforting hand on her shoulder and she realised she’d been staring at them, so she took a deep breath and let her gaze wander to another table. A moment later, her eyes fall upon a lighting shaped scar.

“Look at that boy” she said to James with amusement, pointing at Harry. “I bet you can recognise him.”

“Well, he does have something familiar, now that you point that out” joked James, but she could see his eyes gleaming. “Never seen those hideous hair before, though” he added with a smirk, and she chuckled despite herself.

Her smile suddenly faded when she saw the guy in front of him.

“Regulus Black...” she murmured, shaking her head. “Poor, silly boy... I always wondered if we could have done more...”

James took a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess we all wondered. But at the end, he made his own choices, as everybody else.”

“He was just a kid...”

“We all were” said James. “And they all are...” he added, his gaze fixed on Harry.

She looked at the two boys again, and she noticed that they were sitting alone, now. To her surprise, they were chatting animatedly, but despite the renewed quite in the hall, they were too far to be heard.

“I wonder what they’re talking about...”

“I bet they’re saying that Seeking is the best thing in the world, but as incredibly skilled Chaser we both know that’s only a mere illusion” said James with a smirk.

“Well, I’m afraid I must agree” she smiled. “Harry’s still a better flyer than you, though” she teased fondly.

“No way!” exclaimed James, comically widening his eyes and mouth pretending he was shocked. “He’s only got a better broom!”

“Sure, if that’s what you want to believe...” she said, playing along and knowing perfectly well how proud James must have been for his son talent.

“For the record, Sirius’d never bought me a broom, the tosser. Nor _you_ ” he added with a fake pout, and Minerva felt slightly embarrassed realising that somehow James knew she’d personally paid for that Nimbus, probably breaking several unwritten Hogwarts ethical rules – not that Albus minded.

She’d do it again in a blink, anyway, and according to James amused expression, he was perfectly aware.

“Well, what can I say?” she shrugged. “It would have been a pity to waste all that talent on a school broom.”

“Indeed, indeed” nodded James. He was apparently serious, but she could see his lips twitching, and finally he let go the pretense and grinned. “I’m sure that had nothing to do with Harry being the son of your favorite and most talented student _ever_.”

“I see that you found out about Lily, eventually” she said, trying to keep her expression stern as well – and failing spectacularly.

“Oh, _please_. We both know she is too bad at Quidditch to be your favorite. And she clearly isn’t the most talented, or should I remark I was younger than _you_ when I became an Animagus? And _I_ didn’t even need Dumbledore holding my hand to do it” smirked James. “Pretty sure that seals the deal.”

She shook her head in amusement, recalling her stunned shock the day Albus told her what the so called ‘Marauders’ had illegally accomplished. Looking at James smugness, though, a way older memory popped in her head.

“I can’t believe I’m saying it, but –”

“Merlin, are you really about to admit I was your favorite student!? All those years trying to make you say it, and strict logic plus a near-death experience was all you needed?!”

“Oh, no, that’s nowhere near enough” she smiled. “I was simply admitting that becoming an Animagus at fifteen without a proper guidance is a rather impressive achievement, after all.” She almost added that she had no idea how they managed to teach _Peter_ as well, but she cut her tongue right in time. “I’ll also admit I was quite upset when you so flippantly refused my offer to help you becoming an Animagus yourself. I believed you said something as _Unlike you, professor, I don’t need a tacky pretext to show myself in my birthday suit during random Transfiguration lessons. But if that what’s work for you, who am I to judge?_ ”

James laughed with mirth, clearly delighted. “Godric, that’s pretty accurate, you know? I had to make sure you weren’t going to pressure on the matter ever again. Worth all the night of detention, if you ask me.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it” she said with a fond smile. “So, would have you accepted my offer, if you hadn’t learnt it already?”

“Of course I would have! I’d never refuse such an interesting learning experience offered by _my favorite teacher_. See, not that hard to say” he winked, and Minerva shook her head in amused disbelief. Oh, she’d really forgot what this boy could do to her…

She was about to admit that he was indeed the most talented Transfiguration student she’d ever had when the sky turned darker, the sun setting on the West.

James put his hand on her shoulder yet again. “I guess it’s time to make your choice, professor” he said kindly.

“I guess it is” she agreed. “So, how this is going to work?”

“You just have to choose, I think.”

“You _think_?”

“It’s my first time doing this welcoming thing! And nobody bothered to told me the technicalities, for the record; the good news is, I’m definitely smart enough to figure it out” he winked.

But this time his mirth didn’t reach her. It had been lovely staying here with James, and the time spent together wasn’t nearly long enough, but she finally knew what she had to do, and that meant she had to say goodbye.

She looked at him with sadness, and she gasped when he hugged her tightly, almost lifting her from the floor.

He let her go too soon, and fixed his gaze on hers.

“Harry is a fine young men, isn’t he?” he asked with longing.

“The finest.”

“And you’ll take care of him, right?”

“I’ve always had, James.”

“I kno –”

“Godric, I bet this is one of those scenes you can only see as dead” said a wry voice in the distance.

Minerva and James turned towards it to find a young boy of breath-taking beauty looking at them in amusement.

“You know, I didn’t expect the world beyond the Veil to look like Hogwarts” he said matter-of-factly. “And I definitely didn’t expect you to be there, professor. Killer outfit, by the way” he added with a wink, and she felt her eyes watering.

“Padfoot…” whispered James, his voice cracking with grief.

“I _did_ expected a warmer welcome, though” he playfully scolded James. “And there’s no need to look so gloomy, you’d think somebody died!”

He was the only one to find the joke amusing.

“What happened?” Minerva asked with a lump in her throat.

“I could ask the same of you, professor.”

“She’s not here to stay” said James.

“Well, I am. A courtesy of my dearest cousin.”

Sirius was grinning, but Minerva felt her chest heavy, suddenly aware that she had another tough goodbye to attend, now. She wished she could switch places, but she was sure it didn’t work like that.

“Anyway, esteemed professor” he added with pompous humor, bowing slightly at her, “it’s rather obvious I happened across your missed demise, and I humbly beg forgiveness for the inconvenient intrusion.”

A tiny smile finally twitched her lips. “Forgiveness granted” she conceded with a nod.

“But since I’m here,” said Sirius, “it’d be an honor to run with you one last time.”

A second later he turned in a huge, black dog, who barked playfully and wagged his tail. Minerva understood, and soon beside the dog appeared a tabby cat with spectacle markings around her eyes.It was dark, now, and their pupils gleamed brightly into the night.

When a majestic stag joined them, they moved forward between the central tables, the stone under they paws and hoofs turning in damp grass, the walls of the castle fading away like mist.

On the distance stood the Whomping Willow, its branches motionless, its leafs gently blowing in the wind, and the dog barked cheerfully and raced towards it, urging the others to join him. The cat was supposed to be the slower and the stag faster, but somehow they all kept running side by side, and nobody was left behind.

When they got close to the Willow, the branches began fidgeting fiercely, but the tabby leapt easily among them and pushed the knot at the base of the trunk.

The tree went still, and stag and dog lied down near the cat, who brushed their fur with her paw. The tabby glanced at them one last time, before vanishing in the secret passage.

***

“Can you squeeze my hand, professor?”

Minerva somehow sensed that remote request and made an effort to oblige it, managing to clench her fingers with fair strength.

“Good, very good! Now, can you try opening your eyes for me?” asked the feminine voice.

She painfully lift her eyelids, and then blinked few times before adjusting to the light. She realise was in an aseptic hospital room, and against the white walls and furnitures the bright spot of color near her easily caught her gaze: there was a Quaffle laid on her bedside table.She recalled holding one at the beginning of her odd dream, but she couldn’t remember ever dropping it. It must have vanished without her even noticing, she realised.

“A gift from Gwenog Jones, professor” said the Healer with a warm smile. Minerva was almost moved when she recognised her as a former Ravenclaw student. “And a lot of people sent you flowers, but since a patient was strangled by a Devil’s Snare few months ago we have to send them back. Hospital policy, I’m afraid, but we put the notes in your drawer.”

Minerva nodded politely, but she really couldn’t care about the flowers, nor the notes.

“Can I hold it?” she asked, looking longingly at the ball. Any other day she’d have been thrilled to receive a gift from her favorite team’s captain – another former student of her – but all Minerva could think about now was that _James Potter_ had given her that Quaffle. 

*

Minerva had been conscious for less than an hour when a silver phoenix appeared in her room and Dumbledore voice filled the air, to rejoice for her awakening and update her on the last developments.

Only at the end he announced the terrible news of Sirius's death.

Only then she finally realised it wasn’t just a dream.

***

The dog and the stag ran and played in the grass until exhaustion, the full moon lightening their steps. Eventually, they collapsed under the usual beech near the shores of the Black Lake, turning in their human forms.

They stayed silent for a while, catching their breath and enjoying the chill of the night.

Sirius was the first to break the quite.

“I’m a shitty godfather” he blurted out of the blue.

“Harry adores you” said James softly, nonplussed.

Sirius took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the ground. “How wrong it is that I’m happy to see you, rather than miserable because I can’t be at his side?”

James shook his head. “It’s ok, Padfoot. I missed you too.”

Sirius was silent for a while, before gathering the courage to speak again. “I’m sorry I made you doubt Moony” he whispered.

“I know.”

“If I hadn’t suggested the exchange…”

“Voldemort wouldn’t have fallen and the war wouldn’t have ended. Who knows how many innocent would have died because of it…”

They got quite again, and their gaze wandered to the stars.

“Sirius is particularly bright, tonight” said James, pointing at it.

Sirius snorted.

“Ow!” exclaimed James, playfully shoving him in the shoulder. “Why are you laughing at me, you sod? Have a bit of respect for the older dead!”

“ _Sirius is particularly bright, tonight_ ” mimicked Sirius with an high-pitched tone. “Did you kill time taking lessons from the centaurs?”

“I tried, but they sadly refused my entry in the herd. I had to be content with shagging Lily.”

Sirius laughed out loud. “Too bad, eh?”

“Yeah, what a shame” grinned James. “I bet they were too envy of my stunning legs to accept me, anyway. They’re quite sensitive, you know?”

“It’s their loss, mate.”

“I guess they also felt threatened by my stunning antlers.”

“Speaking of antlers – or lack thereof – where’s Lily?”

“She’ll be here soon.”

“How soon? I’m kinda offended that she hasn’t shown up yet, if you ask me.”

“You got Minnie, though.”

“She has wrinkles.”

“Well, she hadn’t this afternoon.”

“But she _does_. And don’t think I didn't notice you changed the subject. Where’s Lily?”

“I told you, she’ll come.”

“Not if you’re not shagging her” smirked Sirius. “Or did she dumped you for a centaur?”

“I thought we’d already settled that having antlers is definitely cooler?”

“May be. Now, where is she?”

James sighed. “She went looking for someone.”

“You really want to make this hard, don’t you?”

James raised his hands, defeated. “Ok, ok, I’ll tell you… but only if you promise you’ll listen everything he’s got to say.”

“It’s a _he_ , then. Any other clue?”

“ _Padfoot_ ” scolded James.

Sirius looked at him with suspicious, but he nodded eventually. “Yeah, ok, whatever. I promise. Now, who is it?”

James smiled enigmatically. “Regulus is particularly bright too. _”_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :D  
> Feel free to drop any feedback, suggestion, correction about the story or the translation, opinion about headcanons and so on ^^  
> You can also find me on [tumblr](https://isidar-mithrim.tumblr.com)


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